Monday came.
Liang Wei returned to school as if nothing unusual had happened.
His two-day absence went mostly unnoticed.
But Zhang Kai noticed.
"Hey, poor boy," Zhang Kai said casually.
His friends laughed.
"Go buy us drinks and food."
He tossed a single dollar coin at Liang Wei.
"That's not enough…" Liang Wei said quietly.
The laughter grew louder.
"You useless trash," Zhang Kai sneered.
When Liang Wei hesitated, Zhang Kai shoved him hard.
"Don't come back without the food."
Liang Wei tried to hide instead.
But they found him.
The beating came quickly.
And when a teacher arrived, Zhang Kai calmly claimed Liang Wei had stolen from them.
Despite Liang Wei's protests, the teacher believed the wealthy, well-spoken student.
Liang Wei received detention.
Another humiliation.
Another price of poverty.